Saving Seafood

ALASKA: With Western Alaska salmon runs weak, managers set limits on the pollock fleet’s chum bycatch

February 17, 2026 –Federal fishery managers have approved the first-ever mandatory caps on at-sea interception of chum salmon, a fish species critical to Indigenous communities along Alaska’s river systems.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council on Wednesday voted in favor of new limits for the pollock fleet to reduce the amount of chum salmon accidentally caught in trawl nets, a phenomenon known as bycatch.

The compromise, approved at the end of a 10-day council meeting, addresses a yearslong conflict that pitted the in-river salmon fishermen and their Indigenous cultures against the economically important harvesters of Alaska pollock, the top-volume U.S. commercial seafood.

Achieving effective safeguards for Western Alaska chum salmon while balancing needs of all parties amid environmental factors that are out of managers’ control was difficult, Angel Drobnica, the council’s chair, said just before the vote was taken.

“This is the most challenging issue I’ve worked on during my time in this process,” she said, referring to her three years on the full council and six years on the group’s advisory panel. “I believe this motion is durable and enforceable and reflective of input from both sides and has maintained a clear focus on Western Alaska salmon.”

Salmon bycatch is a hot-button issue in Alaska fisheries. Total amounts of chum salmon accidentally caught in the trawl nets used by the pollock fleet can number in the hundreds of thousands — though the vast majority of the chum salmon intercepted in the Bering Sea in this manner is not of Alaska origin, according to council data.

While bycatch limits have been in place for several years for Chinook salmon, this is the first time managers have imposed limits for chum salmon. Both Pacific salmon species are important to the Yukon and Kuskokwim river system communities, and both have collapsed in recent years, at times prompting complete fishing closures all the way into Canada’s Yukon Territory.

Read the full article at the Alaska Beacon

NPFMC rejects hard cap on Western Alaska chum salmon bycatch, but approves corridor closure to allow fish passage

February 17, 2026 — The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) has once again rejected the salmon sector’s demands for hard caps on chum bycatch caught by pollock trawlers in the Bering Sea, though the body did approve some limits intended to reduce bycatch.

Alaska’s salmon sector has long sought stricter limits on the amount of chum salmon commercial pollock trawlers can take as bycatch, claiming that the industrial fishing activity hurts already struggling Alaskan salmon populations.

Read the full article at  SeafoodSource

ALASKA: Indigenous concerns surface as U.S. agency considers seabed mining in Alaskan waters

February 12, 2026 — A U.S. federal agency is considering allowing companies to lease more than 45.7 million hectares (113 million acres) of waters off Alaska for seabed mining. Alaska is the latest of several places President Donald Trump has sought to open to the fledging industry over the past year, including waters around American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. Like those Pacific islands, Alaska is home to Indigenous peoples with ancestral ties to the ocean, and the proposal is raising cultural and environmental concerns.

Deep-sea mining, the practice of scraping minerals off the ocean floor for commercial products like electric vehicle batteries and military technology, is not yet a commercial industry. It’s been slowed by the lack of regulations governing permits in international waters and by concerns about the environmental impact of extracting minerals that formed over millions of years. Scientists have warned the practice could damage fisheries and fragile ecosystems that could take millennia to recover. Indigenous peoples have also pushed back, citing violations of their rights to consent to projects in their territories.

Trump, however, has voiced strong support for the industry as part of his effort to make the United States a leader in critical mineral production. He has also pushed for U.S. companies to mine in international waters, bypassing ongoing global negotiations over international mining regulations.

Kate Finn, a citizen of the Osage Nation and executive director of the Tallgrass Institute Center for Indigenous Economic Stewardship in Colorado, said she worries the seabed mining industry will repeat the mistakes of land-based mining.

“The terrestrial mining industry has not gotten it right with regards to Indigenous peoples,” Finn said. “Indigenous peoples have the right to give and to withdraw consent. Mining companies themselves need to design their operations around that right.”

Read the full article at Mongabay

ALASKA: Pacific cod quota updated mid-season for Kodiak area fishermen

February 11, 2026 — Pacific cod fishermen in the Kodiak area and South Alaska Peninsula can now catch nearly 8 million pounds of fish during the current state-managed fishery. That’s after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced an updated quota last week on Feb. 5 in the middle of the 2026 season.

The guideline harvest level or quota went from 5.3 million pounds of cod ahead of the Kodiak area season opener to 7.9 million pounds on Feb. 5. That’s an almost 50% increase in the amount of fish that can be caught this season, which is split evenly between pot and jig fishermen.

Read the full article at KMXT

ALASKA: Managers OK increase in Gulf of Alaska cod harvest after shutdown delayed analysis

February 10, 2026 — In a decision that was delayed by the prolonged federal government shutdown last fall, federal fishery regulators have increased this year’s allowable harvest of Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska.

The approximately 37.5% increase in total allowable catch was approved by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, the panel that oversees commercial seafood harvests in federal waters off Alaska. The new limit approved by council members on Thursday totaled 30,053 metric tons across all three designated regions of the Gulf of Alaska, up from 21,826 metric tons tentatively approved in December.

Normally, the annual harvest limits for groundfish species like pollock and Pacific cod for both the Bering Sea and the Gulf of Alaska are set at the council’s regular December meetings.

Fishery scientists lacked sufficient time to analyze data from summer surveys because of the record 43-day federal government shutdown that ended on Nov. 12, so the council then wound up using 2024 recommendations to set 2026 harvest limits.

Read the full article at Alaska Beacon

ALASKA: Low king salmon forecast leads to multiple restrictions in Alaska

February 10, 2026. — Fishing for king salmon this summer will be highly restricted after the total run forecasts for the Deshka River, Kenai River early-run, Kenai River late-run and Anchor River all show low numbers.

“King salmon are experiencing a period of poor productivity and escapement goals are not likely to be achieved in 2026,” the Alaska Department of Fish and Game stated on Monday.

“It’s all within the vein of trying to conserve king salmon in Southcentral Alaska,” said Kristine Dunker, regional supervisor for Fish Game in Southcentral Alaska.

Dunker said the state hopes that by releasing the latest regulations in February, Alaska anglers will be have plenty of time to plan for the upcoming summer.

Read the full article at KTUU

ALASKA: Science symposium emphasizes Indigenous knowledge, finfish, kelp

February 9, 2026 — Gulf of Alaska maritime issues, from halibut and herring to kelp farming, were on the agenda during the four-day Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchorage from Jan. 26-30.

The importance of engaging Indigenous knowledge in policy making for fisheries management in Alaska was the focus of a presentation by Hekia Bodwitch of the University of Alaska Southeast, and Alex Jenkins of the University of Alaska Fairbanks.

They noted that historically western government leaders and scientists have excluded Indigenous peoples from policymaking and research, and that uneven power dynamics persist today.

In their studies they examined perceived successes, shortcomings and limitations of recent initiatives in Alaska’s fisheries management focused on engaging Indigenous knowledge. These efforts included those of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the Alaska Board of Fisheries. Their study involved interviews with more than 30 fishery policymakers and advisors, as well as analyses of policymaking meetings.

Those interviewed spoke of barriers to change stemming from legal frameworks, political-economic dynamics, and policy implementation challenges.

Some of these challenges reflect a mismatch between how Indigenous knowledge is typically shared and public testimony processes. Those interviewed also emphasized that Indigenous peoples remain underrepresented in policymaking, while their participation is essential in order to engage Indigenous knowledge to effect meaningful change.

Read the full article at The Cordova Times

ALASKA: Alaska regulators forecast strong Prince William Sound pink salmon run for 2026

February 4, 2026 — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is forecasting both a strong pink salmon harvest and a strong chum salmon harvest in the Prince William Sound this year, with both expected to be 14 percent above the recent 10-year average for even years.

The official forecast predicts a wild pink salmon harvest of 3.9 million for the Prince William Sound, which would fall below last year’s 5.9 million pink salmon harvested.

Read the full article at SeafoodSource

Unalaska’s pollock industry anticipates upcoming chum bycatch decision

February 2, 2026 — The Unalaska City Council took up the issue of salmon bycatch at its two January meetings, ultimately agreeing to support industry-run bycatch avoidance programs.

Salmon bycatch has been a flashpoint for years. And the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which oversees federal fisheries in Alaska, including in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, will now weigh in on whether to impose stricter limits on chum salmon bycatch at its upcoming February meeting.

That’s got Unalaska leaders worried the decision could threaten the pollock industry that underpins the island’s economy.

“This is one of the most important items in the last few years,” said Frank Kelty, the city’s fisheries consultant at the city council’s Jan. 13 meeting.

Kelty warned council members that proposed limits could have major consequences for the community, whose economy revolves around the fishery.

Kelty told council members that the pollock B season — which accounts for about 60% of the annual pollock harvest — is particularly at risk.

He pointed to one proposal that would cap incidental catch of chum salmon at 100,000. Kelty said under that scenario, the pollock B season would have shut down early in eleven of the past twelve years.

That, he said, would ripple through Unalaska’s economy — affecting processors, harvesters, city revenues and support businesses, like refrigeration companies.

Read the full article at KMXT